The Jan. 29 derailment of a Vermont Rail train in Whitehall was the result of a combination of issues, according to the president of the company.

David Wulfson said his company’s investigation found there were “multiple causes” that contributed to the accident, which closed the line for the

better part of a day.

“The train configuration was a problem, there were short, empty cars at the head end and a load on the other end,” he said. “There was a little bit of an issue with train handling and there is a little extra elevation in the curve.

“You put all those things together, and things like this happen,” he added. “There were no track defects. There was a broken rail, but we believe that was caused by the derailment.”

The issue with the curve is that it has a higher bank than usual to make for a smoother ride for Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express, which also uses the line.